I received a judgment or enforcement order

You have received a service of a judgment or an enforcement order. This means that you have been officially informed by us of your being ordered to pay the amount mentioned. Many steps have preceded this judgment or enforcement order. The creditor has sent you a number of reminders and you have been requested to pay. Unfortunately, no solution was arrived at. The court has ordered you to pay or the competent body has asked that you be served with an enforcement order.

If you have been the subject of a judgment or received the enforcement order, you should comply with the judgment or enforcement order as quickly as possible or, if you disagree, file an appeal. If you have to pay, it is best to do so immediately. Do not forget that you will also have to pay the interests and procedural costs (service of the writ of summons or service enforcement order and the administration of justice fee if the claimant had a lawyer).

As of the service, the 1 month period (in civil cases) starts within which you can file opposition or appeal if you disagree with the judgment1.

Your case will then be brought before the court again. To do so, you should consult a lawyer, a House of Justice (“Maison de Justice”) or Legal Aid Centre (“Wetswinkel”). In some cases (e.g. minor claims) appealing is not possible. This is the case when the judgment states that it was ‘given in final instance’.

Filing opposition or an appeal does not automatically relieve you of your obligation to comply with the judgment or enforcement order. For example, you will have to pay if the judgment or enforcement order mentions that it is 'provisionally enforceable'. It is certainly not a good idea to file an appeal to gain time. The other party can still force you to pay or block the funds. So, it’s best to get information in advance to know whether you have any chance of succeeding.

You should contact us immediately to come to a solution for your case, thus avoiding further enforcement and costs.

Contact us at any rate, if your question remains unanswered. That way, we can find an appropriate solution together.

If you do not take any action at all, it is very likely that we will soon proceed with the further enforcement of the judgment or enforcement order. This means that, depending on the judgment, we can impose an attachment on (part of) your income or your bank balance. Or we can impose an attachment on moveable goods belonging to you (for example household contents and car) or immovable goods (for example your house). Following such an attachment, these items can be sold at a public auction. The proceeds will be used to cover the (legal) costs incurred and pay off the creditor.

The solution is in your hands. We are happy to help you with this. Therefore, contact us as soon as possible to find an appropriate solution.